Polity · 1961 CE – present
Gabon
République gabonaise · République Gabonaise
Also recorded as Gabonese Republic
- Peak recorded area
- 260,681 km²
- 1886 CE
- Rulers on record
- 6
- from 1961 CE
- Data series
- 365
- 1961 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) and a population of 2.3 million people. There are coastal plains, mountains, and a savanna in the east. Libreville is the country's capital and largest city.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
6 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 56 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.6Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 68.7years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1,116persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.09% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 71.45years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 66.23years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 144 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 25Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 21.4Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 15.7K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 6.75% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 47.19% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 42.34% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 32 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0.0002CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 3.9Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 5,000persons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure54 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 204Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure % GDP42 obs · 1967 CE–2024 CE | 1.54% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Territory & resources
6 of 55 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.26% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Oil Production125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 130.43TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 91.18% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 8.36%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.1308hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 2.2Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 28 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index115 obs · 1910 CE–2024 CE | 0.229index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index115 obs · 1910 CE–2024 CE | 0.155index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index115 obs · 1910 CE–2024 CE | 0.208index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type115 obs · 1910 CE–2024 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index115 obs · 1910 CE–2024 CE | 0.418index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity253 obs · 1960 CE–2012 CE | 3index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 50 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index115 obs · 1910 CE–2024 CE | 0.757index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Electricity Production59 obs · 1939 CE–1998 CE | 1.4BGWh1998 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 122.61per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Telephones52 obs · 1949 CE–2002 CE | 32.5Kcount2002 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles44 obs · 1949 CE–1993 CE | 17count1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars44 obs · 1949 CE–1993 CE | 23Kcount1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
6 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Léon M'baHead of State1961 CE – 1967 CE
- Omar BongoHead of State1967 CE – 2009 CE
- Ali Bongo OndimbaHead of State2009 CE – 2023 CE
- Rose Francine RogombeHead of State2009 CE
- Brice Clotaire Oligui NguemaHead of State2023 CE –
- Raymond Ndong SimaHead of Government2023 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Central Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Brice OLIGUI Nguema (since 3 May 2025); head of government: President Brice OLIGUI Nguema (since 3 May 2025); cabinet: cabinet appointed by president; election/appointment process: the president directly elected by plurality vote to a 7-year term (no term limits)
- Ethnic groups
- Fang 23.5%, Shira-Punu'Vii 20.6%, Nzabi-Duma 11.2%, Mbede-Teke 5.6%, Myene 4.4%, Kota-Kele 4.3%, Okande-Tsogho 1.6%, other 12.6%, foreigner 16.2% (2021 est.)
- Natural resources
- petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower
- Economy
- natural-resource-rich, upper-middle-income, Central African economy; significant reliance on oil and mineral exports; highly urbanized population; high levels of poverty and unemployment; uncertainty on institutional and development reform progress following 2023 military coup
Language & currency
- Currency
- Coopération Financière en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1960 CE –
- France–Gabon Defense Pact (1960)Military alliance · member1960 CE –
- 14-member Defense Pact (1961)Military alliance · member1961 CE – 1964 CE
- OPECOPECEconomic bloc · member1975 CE –
- 11-member Defense Pact (2000)Military alliance · member2000 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0